Relationship between the morphological, mechanical and permeability properties of porous bone scaffolds and the underlying microstructure

Influence of structural parameters of 3D-printed triply periodic minimal surface gyroid porous scaffolds on compression performance, cell response, and bone regeneration

In this study, multi-scale triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS) porous scaffolds with uniform and radial gradient distribution on pore size were printed based on the selective laser melting technology, and the influences of porosity, pore size and radial pore size distribution on compression mechanical properties, cell behavior, and bone regeneration behavior were analyzed. The results showed that the compression performance of the uniform porous scaffolds with high porosity was similar to that of cancellous bone of pig tibia, and the gradient porous scaffolds have higher elastic modulus and compressive toughness. After 4 days of cell culture, cells were distributed on the surface of scaffolds mostly, and the number of adherent cells was higher on the small pore size porous scaffolds; After 7 days, the area and density of cell proliferation on the scaffolds were improved; After 14 days, the cells on the small pore size scaffolds tended to migrate to adjacent pores. Animal implantation experiments showed that collagen fiber osteoid was intermittent on scaffolds with high porosity and large pore size, which was not conducive to bone formation. The appropriate pore size and porosity of bone regeneration were 792 um and 83%, respectively, and the regenerative ability of gradient pore size was better than that of uniform pore size. Our study explains the rules of TPMS gyroid structure parameters on compression performance, cell response and bone regeneration, and provides a reference value for the design of bone repair scaffolds for clinical orthopedics.

Recent advancement in vascularized tissue-engineered bone based on materials design and modification

Bone is one of the most vascular network-rich tissues in the body and the vascular system is essential for the development, homeostasis, and regeneration of bone. When segmental irreversible damage occurs to the bone, restoring its vascular system by means other than autogenous bone grafts with vascular pedicles is a therapeutic challenge. By pre-generating the vascular network of the scaffold in vivo or in vitro, the pre-vascularization technique enables an abundant blood supply in the scaffold after implantation. However, pre-vascularization techniques are time-consuming, and in vivo pre-vascularization techniques can be damaging to the body. Critical bone deficiencies may be filled quickly with immediate implantation of a supporting bone tissue engineered scaffold. However, bone tissue engineered scaffolds generally lack vascularization, which requires modification of the scaffold to aid in enhancing internal vascularization. In this review, we summarize the relationship between the vascular system and osteogenesis and use it as a basis to further discuss surgical and cytotechnology-based pre-vascularization strategies and to describe the preparation of vascularized bone tissue engineered scaffolds that can be implanted immediately. We anticipate that this study will serve as inspiration for future vascularized bone tissue engineered scaffold construction and will aid in the achievement of clinical vascularized bone.

Robocasting of Ceramic Fischer-Koch S Scaffolds for Bone Tissue Engineering

Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces (TPMS) are promising structures for bone tissue engineering scaffolds due to their relatively high mechanical energy absorption, smoothly interconnected porous structure, scalable unit cell topology, and relatively high surface area per volume. Calcium phosphate-based materials, such as hydroxyapatite and tricalcium phosphate, are very popular scaffold biomaterials due to their biocompatibility, bioactivity, compositional similarities to bone mineral, non-immunogenicity, and tunable biodegradation. Their brittle nature can be partially mitigated by 3D printing them in TPMS topologies such as gyroids, which are widely studied for bone regeneration, as evidenced by their presence in popular 3D-printing slicers, modeling systems, and topology optimization tools. Although structural and flow simulations have predicted promising properties of other TPMS scaffolds, such as Fischer-Koch S (FKS), to the best of our knowledge, no one has explored these possibilities for bone regeneration in the laboratory. One reason for this is that fabrication of the FKS scaffolds, such as by 3D printing, is challenged by a lack of algorithms to model and slice this topology for use by low-cost biomaterial printers. This paper presents an open-source software algorithm that we developed to create 3D-printable FKS and gyroid scaffold cubes, with a framework that can accept any continuous differentiable implicit function. We also report on our successful 3D printing of hydroxyapatite FKS scaffolds using a low-cost method that combines robocasting with layer-wise photopolymerization. Dimensional accuracy, internal microstructure, and porosity characteristics are also presented, demonstrating promising potential for the 3D printing of TPMS ceramic scaffolds for bone regeneration.

The Effect of Tortuosity on Permeability of Porous Scaffold

In designing porous scaffolds, permeability is essential to consider as a function of cell migration and bone tissue regeneration. Good permeability has been achieved by mimicking the complexity of natural cancellous bone. In this study, a porous scaffold was developed according to the morphological indices of cancellous bone (porosity, specific surface area, thickness, and tortuosity). The computational fluid dynamics method analyzes the fluid flow through the scaffold. The permeability values of natural cancellous bone and three types of scaffolds (cubic, octahedron pillar, and Schoen's gyroid) were compared. The results showed that the permeability of the Negative Schwarz Primitive (NSP) scaffold model was similar to that of natural cancellous bone, which was in the range of 2.0 × 10^-11 m² to 4.0 × 10^-10 m². In addition, it was observed that the tortuosity parameter significantly affected the scaffold's permeability and shear stress values. The tortuosity value of the NSP scaffold was in the range of 1.5-2.8. Therefore, tortuosity can be manipulated by changing the curvature of the surface scaffold radius to obtain a superior bone tissue engineering construction supporting cell migration and tissue regeneration. This parameter should be considered when making new scaffolds, such as our NSP. Such efforts will produce a scaffold architecturally and functionally close to the natural cancellous bone, as demonstrated in this study.

PCL strut-like scaffolds appear superior to gyroid in terms of bone regeneration within a long bone large defect: An in silico study

The treatment of large bone defects represents a major clinical challenge. 3D printed scaffolds appear as a promising strategy to support bone defect regeneration. The 3D design of such scaffolds impacts the healing path and thus defect regeneration potential. Among others, scaffold architecture has been shown to influence the healing outcome. Gyroid architecture, characterized by a zero mean surface curvature, has been discussed as a promising scaffold design for bone regeneration. However, whether gyroid scaffolds are favourable for bone regeneration in large bone defects over traditional strut-like architecture scaffolds remains unknown. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether gyroid scaffolds present advantages over more traditional strut-like scaffolds in terms of their bone regeneration potential. Validated bone defect regeneration principles were applied in an in silico modeling approach that allows to predict bone formation in defect regeneration. Towards this aim, the mechano-biological bone regeneration principles were adapted to allow simulating bone regeneration within both gyroid and strut-like scaffolds. We found that the large surface curvatures of the gyroid scaffold led to a slower tissue formation dynamic and conclusively reduced bone regeneration. The initial claim, that an overall reduced zero mean surface curvature would enhance bone formation, could not be confirmed. The here presented approach illustrates the potential of in silico tools to evaluate in pre-clinical studies scaffold designs and eventually lead to optimized architectures of 3D printed implants for bone regeneration.

Comparison of the design maps of TPMS based bone scaffolds using a computational modeling framework simultaneously considering various conditions

In recent years, the triply periodic minimal surface (TPMS)-based scaffolds have been served as one of the crucial types of structures for biological replacements, the energy absorber, etc. Meanwhile, the development of additive manufacturing (AM) has facilitated the production of TPMS scaffolds with complex microstructures. However, the design maps of TPMS scaffolds, especially considering the AM constraints, remain unclear, which has hindered the design and application of TPMS scaffolds. The aims of the present study were to develop an efficient computational modeling framework for investigating the design maps of TPMS scaffolds simultaneously considering the AM constraints, the biological requirements, and the structural anisotropy. To demonstrate the computational framework, five widely-used topologies of the TPMS-based scaffolds (i.e. the Diamond, the Gyroid, the Fischer-Koch S, the F-RD, and the Schwarz P) were used, whose design maps for the surface-to-volume ratio and the effective elastic modulus were also investigated. The results showed that as the porosities increase, the design ranges of the surface-to-volume ratios decreases for all the structures. Compared with the effect of the constraint for the pore size, the minimal structural thickness for AM constraint has a greater effect on the surface-to-volume ratio. Regarding the elastic modulus, in the region of low porosity (approximately 0.5–0.7), the range for the effective elastic modulus of Schwarz P is the widest (approximately 2.24–32.6 GPa), but the Gyroid can achieve both high porosity and low effective elastic modulus (e.g. 0.61 GPa at the porosity of 0.90). These results and the method developed in the present study provided important basis and guidance for the design and application of the TPMS-based porous structures.

Template-Enabled Biofabrication of Thick 3D Tissues with Patterned Perfusable Macrochannels

Interconnected pathways in 3D bioartificial organs are essential to retaining cell activity in thick functional 3D tissues. 3D bioprinting methods have been widely explored in biofabrication of functionally patterned tissues; however, these methods are costly and confined to thin tissue layers due to poor control of low-viscosity bioinks. Here, cell-laden hydrogels that could be precisely patterned via water-soluble gelatin templates are constructed by economical extrusion 3D printed plastic templates. Tortuous co-continuous plastic networks, designed based on triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS), serve as a sacrificial pattern to shape the secondary sacrificial gelatin templates. These templates are eventually used to form cell-encapsulated gelatin methacryloyl (GelMA) hydrogel scaffolds patterned with the complex interconnected pathways. The proposed fabrication process is compatible with photo-crosslinkable hydrogels wherein prepolymer casting enables incorporation of high cell populations with high viability. The cell-laden hydrogel constructs are characterized by robust mechanical behavior. In vivo studies demonstrate a superior cell ingrowth into the highly permeable constructs compared to the bulk hydrogels. Perfusable complex interconnected networks within cell-encapsulated hydrogels may assist in engineering thick and functional tissue constructs through the permeable internal channels for efficient cellular activities in vivo.

Compression Performance and Deformation Behavior of 3D-Printed PLA-Based Lattice Structures

The aim of this study is to fabricate biodegradable PLA-based composite filaments for 3D printing to manufacture bear-loading lattice structures. First, CaCO₃ and TCP as inorganic fillers were incorporated into a PLA matrix to fabricate a series of composite filaments. The material compositions, mechanical properties, and rheology behavior of the PLA/CaCO₃ and PLA/TCP filaments were evaluated. Then, two lattice structures, cubic and Triply Periodic Minimal Surfaces-Diamond (TPMS-D), were geometrically designed and 3D-printed into fine samples. The axial compression results indicated that the addition of CaCO₃ and TCP effectively enhances the compressive modulus and strength of lattice structures. In particular, the TPMS-D structure showed superior load-carrying capacity and specific energy absorption compared to those of its cubic counterparts. Furthermore, the deformation behavior of these two lattice structures was examined by image recording during compression and computed tomography (CT) scanning of samples after compression. It was observed that pore structure could be well held in TPMS-D, while that in cubic structure was destroyed due to the fracture of vertical struts. Therefore, this paper highlights promising 3D-printed biodegradable lattice structures with excellent energy-absorption capacity and high structural stability.

A Critical Review on the Design, Manufacturing and Assessment of the Bone Scaffold for Large Bone Defects

In recent years, bone tissue engineering has emerged as a promising solution for large bone defects. Additionally, the emergence and development of the smart metamaterial, the advanced optimization algorithm, the advanced manufacturing technique, etc. have largely changed the way how the bone scaffold is designed, manufactured and assessed. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to give an up-to-date review on the design, manufacturing and assessment of the bone scaffold for large bone defects. The following parts are thoroughly reviewed: 1) the design of the microstructure of the bone scaffold, 2) the application of the metamaterial in the design of bone scaffold, 3) the optimization of the microstructure of the bone scaffold, 4) the advanced manufacturing of the bone scaffold, 5) the techniques for assessing the performance of bone scaffolds.

Analytical model for the prediction of permeability of triply periodic minimal surfaces

Triply periodic minimal surfaces (TPMS) are mathematically defined cellular structures whose geometry can be quickly adapted to target desired mechanical response (structural and fluid). This has made them desirable for a wide range of bioengineering applications; especially as bioinspired materials for bone replacement. The main objective of this study was to develop a novel analytical framework which would enable calculating permeability of TPMS structures based on the desired architecture, pore size and porosity. To achieve this, computer-aided designs of three TPMS structures (Fisher-Koch S, Gyroid and Schwarz P) were generated with varying cell size and porosity levels. Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) was used to calculate permeability for all models under laminar flow conditions. Permeability values were then used to fit an analytical model dependent on geometry parameters only. Results showed that permeability of the three architectures increased with porosity at different rates, highlighting the importance of pore distribution and architecture. The computed values of permeability fitted well with the suggested analytical model (R²>0.99, p<0.001). In conclusion, the novel analytical framework presented in the current study enables predicting permeability values of TPMS structures based on geometrical parameters within a difference <5%. This model, which could be combined with existing structural analytical models, could open new possibilities for the smart optimisation of TPMS structures for biomedical applications where structural and fluid flow properties need to be optimised.

Ce/Sm/Sr-Incorporating Ceramic Scaffolds Obtained via Sol-Gel Route

Three different inorganic scaffolds were obtained starting from the oxide system SiO₂‒P₂O₅‒CaO‒MgO, to which Ce⁴⁺/Sm³⁺/Sr²⁺ cations were added in order to propose novel materials with potential application in the field of hard tissue engineering. Knowing the beneficial effects of each element, improved features in terms of mechanical properties, antibacterial activity and cellular response are expected. The compositions were processed in the form of scaffolds by a common sol-gel method, followed by a thermal treatment at 1000 and 1200 °C. The obtained samples were characterized from thermal, compositional, morphological and mechanical point of view. It was shown that each supplementary component triggers the modification of the crystalline phase composition, as well as microstructural details. Moreover, the shrinkage behavior is well correlated with the attained compression strength values. Sm was proven to be the best choice, since in addition to a superior mechanical resistance, a clear beneficial influence on the viability of 3T3 fibroblast cell line was observed.